Thief
by Lileaglet
Summary: An unknown thief has been stirring up trouble in Rome, and it's up to Ezio and the brotherhood to stop them.    I'm terrible at summaries, rated for safety, please review
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Ezio woke with a start at the sound of an eagle screeching outside of his bedroom window. He hurried over to the window and noticed that it was pouring rain. The eagle was still screeching and began tapping its beak against the glass frantically.

"Naja be quiet!" He hissed, opening the window hurriedly.

The eagle fluttered in and landed on the desk in the corner of the room. She was still making quite the racket.

"Naja!" he cried. She stopped at the sound of her master's cry and shook the water from her feathers. Ezio sighed and grabbed one of the sheets from his bed. He brought it over to her and began to dry her off as best he could. "_Mi dispiace_ Naja, I'd forgotten to keep the window open for you," he said, rubbing her left wing dry. She let out a small cry and blinked at him. He smiled at her and finished drying her off. "Come on, it's getting late," holding his arm out, she obediently fluttered onto his hand.

He crossed the room and set her down on the perch he'd made for her. He closed the window, avoiding the small puddle that had formed from the rain when he'd opened it. He'd clean it up later. He settled back into bed to finally get some sleep.

He awoke when he heard someone knocking on his room door. He sat up with a groan and wiped the sleepiness from his eyes.

"I'm up, what is it you want?" He bellowed, when the knock once again sounded.

"We need to talk, meet me downstairs!" Machiavelli answered, sounding flustered. He heard Machiavelli's footsteps fade away down the wooden staircase that led to his room.

He dressed quickly and looked over at Naja, whom was still on her perch looking alert.

"Well, are you coming?" he asked, opening the door. She chirped and fluttered up onto his left shoulder. He smiled and walked down the steps to the main room where Machiavelli was pacing. "So what is it?" He asked.

"Someone has stolen my wallet!" Machiavelli exclaimed angrily.

"...That happens to a lot of people Nicc-"

"It's happened a _lot_ lately and mostly to the assassins!"

"How is that possible? Have we tracked down-"

"No we haven't; however, we aren't the only ones with thief problems. It seems the templars are in an uproar as well. It seems they have been visited by the same thief,"

"Is this thief after the apple?"

"We do not know yet, it appears this thief is only after money at the moment,"

"Contact La Volpe immediately he-"

"That will not be necessary," a third voice announced. La Volpe stepped down the stairs that lead to the front door of the Assassin headquarters. "We haven't been able to gather any information on the identity of the thief as of yet, but we are working on it. I have spies placed throughout the city as well as the countryside."

"_Bene_, have you been able to locate Leonardo yet?"

"He was spotted on his way to the marketplace from the Castello not one hour earlier." Ezio nodded.

"I'm going to a pay a little visit to our old friend," he turned and headed up to the entrance.

Once outside, he headed towards the most popular marketplace in Roma. He knew of a few stalls which sold objects that would likely be of interest to Leonardo; this would be the most likely market for him to visit.

Twenty minutes later he arrived at the market. Ducking into a side alley, he climbed his way up to the rooftops to get a better view of the people there. Naja had flown up ahead and landed on his shoulder once he reached the top.

He looked down amongst the crowd. Hopefully Leonardo hadn't made his way out of the marketplace yet. There were patches of guards everywhere, but one group in particular seemed to be escorting a man to various stalls. It looked like Leonardo. Why on earth was he being escorted by guards? Ezio had heard news that his old friend was in Roma, but he did not know why.

"That's him there!" He reached for Naja with his right hand. She hopped down onto his gloved hand and looked at him attentively. "All right, I'm counting on you to lead him away from the guards Naja, can you do that for me?" She whistled and looked down at the crowd. "That man there," he pointed to Leonardo. He was still sporting his red hat, which coincidentally, made him easier to spot. Naja surveyed the crowds and chirped when she saw the target Ezio was pointing out. "But where to lead him? I do not want him coming to the headquarters if he is followed..." he looked around and spotted the colosseum about thirty minutes away. Fifteen if he managed to sprint the entire way. "Naja," he called, getting her attention. He pointed to Leonardo, and then to the colosseum in the distance. "Get him alone," she whistled again. He smiled and stroked her beak. "Go on," he thrust his hand up and watched as she lifted off.

She angled her wings and dived down towards Leonardo. The guards had moved into a diamond formation around him to walk to another stall. They were shoving anyone whom happened to be in their way. It seemed they were eager to leave.

Leonardo emerged from the diamond a little nervously and spoke to the shopkeeper. Naja let out an ear piercing screech and extended her talons towards Leonardo. Ezio's breathe caught for a split second, thinking she had misunderstood and that Leonardo was her target to harm. She swooped down and caught Leonardo's hat in her talons swiftly and gracefully. People started screaming and the guards were completely shocked.

"My hat! No! Come back!" Leonardo cried, running after her. The guards immediately gave chase; shouting swears and cries of protest.

Ezio smirked. His eagle was certainly a clever one. Naja would be fine; he knew she could take care of herself. He stood and ran across the roof tops towards the colosseum.


	2. Chapter 2

Ezio leapt across the rooftops as fast as he could. Climbing down at the edge of the city, he continued to run down the path leading into the countryside. He finally made it to the magnificent structure and headed inside. Where should he meet Leonardo? Ezio knew Leo couldn't climb as well as he did but the higher up you went the mort privacy you had. He would at least climb to the second level of the colosseum. Leonardo could manage that.

He turned to look out at the city for any sign of Naja and Leonardo, however the sun was facing him, making it difficult to see anything. He sighed and moved behind the remains of the wall which was on this side. It provided a nice shadow to hide in.

He heard the sound of Naja's wing beats coming from the bottom of the colosseum. She flew past him and out of sight behind the wall. Had she intentionally missed him?

He looked down at the path he'd taken to get up when he heard a fair bit of groaning and cursing. He stepped to the edge of the stone and looked down. Leonardo was trying his best to make his way up the rocky surface.

Once close enough, Ezio grabbed a hold of Leonardo's arm and pulled him up. Leo looked up quickly in surprise, fear flashing across his face until he realised someone was trying to help him up. He squinted as he was facing the sunset and couldn't quite tell who was helping him up.

Ezio stepped back once Leonardo was able to get up on his own. The artist brushed himself off and looked up at him, panting rather heavily.

"E-Ezio?" he asked, shielding his eyes from the sun. Ezio smiled and waited for his friend to catch his breath. "Ezio! It's been so long!"

"Come here!" he said, hugging his best friend affectionately. "I had heard you were here in Roma and I tried to track you down,"

"Yes, unfortunately, being here is not very enjoyable. Er, have you seen my hat anywhere? I think an eagle has made its nest here and taken it for insulation," Ezio chuckled. He put his fingers to his lips and whistled a call for Naja. A few seconds later, she flew over the wall and swooped onto Ezio's outstretched arm. She was still holding Leonardo's hat in her talons. Ezio plucked the hat from her.

"Er, sorry," he apologized, noticing holes in the hat.

"Oh, well it's nothing I can't fix I suppose. Ezio I didn't know you had an eagle! What a magnificent bird!" He looked at Naja in complete fascination. "I've never seen one so close!" Naja seemed to understand someone was admiring her greatly. She extended her wings and let out a powerful cry. Leonardo's eyes lit up. "Fascinating!"

"All right, that's enough showing off from you," Ezio chuckled, holding onto her beak. She pulled away and chirped, looking at Leonardo.

"She's quite an amazing bird!"

"Would you like to hold her?" Leonardo's face brightened in an instant. He looked at Naja with an expression of admiration.

"Only if she is not troubled by it,"

"She seems to like you, I do not think that should be a problem," Leonardo smiled and held his hand out in front of her a little shyly. Naja looked at him cautiously but stepped down onto his arm.

"Magnificent," Leonardo breathed, bringing her closer. She flapped her wings to regain balance and settled back down. "You'll have to tell me how you acquired this beautiful creature," He dug into his right pocket and pulled out a small piece of bread to offer to her. She looked at it curiously. Upon seeing it wasn't any sort of meat, she chirped and looked completely uninterested. "_Mi dispiace_, I'll be sure to bring you meat next time," he chuckled, handing her back to her master.

"Perhaps it is time we head back to the assassin quarters; we have much to talk about,"

"I-I don't know if that's such a good idea Ezio, if the guards find me-"

"Why are you worried about the guards?"

"Because," he lowered his voice and looked around. "I have been threatened by Cesare, I'm currently under his employ, and if I leave I _will_ be killed," Ezio frowned. "I am not allowed to leave the castello unless I am escorted by guards at all times. It was a miracle your eagle managed to lose them in the chase."

"Come stay with us until we deal with Cesare-"

"No, if I stay with them, I can help you from the inside," Ezio looked uncertain.

"I don't know Leonardo, it could be dangerous if they find out-"

"Do not worry my friend," Ezio sighed and looked out at the city. The last rays of the sun were slowly fading.

"Come on Leonardo, let us continue our conversation at the headquarters," Leonardo looked unsure. "Do not worrys, it is not very far from here, and it is getting late, it will be harder to recognize you once it gets dark,"

"Well...I suppose it can't hurt," Ezio smiled.

"Naja, keep on the lookout for any guards in our path, do you understand?" she whistled and lifted off when he held out his arm. "All right Leonardo, let's get going, we have much to talk about."

~ **Note:**  
>I'm, sorry it's a little short, I hadn't intended it to be but that's just how it seemed to have worked out :P<p> 


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